The March 12th, 2012 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Angels split their weekend spring training games, Kendrys Morales could play in games in a matter of days, Mike Trout is still ailing and much more…
The Story: The Angels split the four games they played over the weekend.
The Monkey Says: Highlights from those games include Brad Mills and Garrett Richards both playing well and Mark Trumbo smashing homers while also making a very nice diving stop at third base. Not too bad for a weekend’s work.
The Monkey Says: It is happening people. It is really happening.
The Story: Mike Trout is still ailing and has lost ten pounds due to the flu.
The Monkey Says: Sounds like he is pretty sick, so it could be days still before he gets his strength back so he can play in games. Also, it appears Bobby Cassevah has shoulder tightness, so he is worth monitoring this spring as he had made himself into a solid member of the pen by the end of last season.
The Monkey Says: All just part of the process. The major league players are in better shape now, so the Halos don’t need the additional depth around in camp.
The Story: Angel ownership gets taken to task for their ticket voucher redemption fiasco.
The Monkey Says: It is pretty clear that somebody screwed this up in a big way, and it sounds like John Carpino is mostly to blame. The idea that this kind of thing has to be done in person by thousands of people is just a comically bad idea. Where I disagree is saying that Moreno and the franchise are making this kind of thing a habit. Few owners have a better history of putting the fans first than Arte Moreno does. No doubt that this is a blemish on his record, but I would be shocked if he doesn’t act quickly to make it right, even if Carpino continues to be prick about the situation.
The Story: Mickey Hatcher has no problem with Vernon Wells seeking outside help for his swing reconstruction.
The Monkey Says: Nor should he. Wells needed help in the worst way, so he was right to seek out the best help he could find, which Jaramillo is and Hatcher, well…
The Story: Hisanori Takahashi will be used more as a long reliever than a left-handed specialist this season.
The Monkey Says: Well, this will be interesting. Taka was good against righties but not as good as he should have been against lefties last season. However, in 2010, Hisanori was death on lefties while righties pounded him. Like I said, this will be interesting.
The Story: Peter Bourjos is poised to blossom into a star this season.
The Monkey Says: That’s big talk, but it isn’t outlandish. Peter is an elite fielder already and easily surpassed his offensive expectations last season. The question though is what is his offensive ceiling? For all we know, he could be up against it already or he could be not even close to it.
The Story: Dan Haren wants to remain an Angel the rest of his career.
The Monkey Says: That is great to hear and not really a surprise since Haren is from the area and was ecstatic to get traded to the Halos in the first place. However, nothing is imminent as far as his contract goes, so file this one under “warm and fuzzies.”
The Story: C.J. Wilson is trying to develop his changeup so that he can use it more this season.
The Monkey Says: Wilson is mostly a fastball-slider guy, but he also has a curveball that he used a lot more last season with middling results. Swapping that out for a changeup sounds like a better idea since it would make him even more effective against right-handers.
The Story: Garrett Richards is trying to correct his problem with tipping pitches.
The Monkey Says: That is certainly encouraging because it suggests that his problems in his brief major league career are less to do with command and stuff but more to do with being him being raw. This should definitely help him be more effective, but it also means he has a lot of learning left to do, which isn’t great for a guy trying to win a rotation spot.
The Story: The Angels rated seventh in Fangraphs postional power rankings for center field.
The Monkey Says: That’s actually higher than I expected, and it shows a lot of respect too when you consider the players listed above Bourjos. He is so close to being elite and I don’t think a lot of people realize it. Fangraphs does though. I now like them even more.
The Story: Fangraphs ranks the Angel minor league system 19th overall.
The Monkey Says: That’s the lowest I’ve seen from any source. I now like them a little less again.